Page 44 of Royal Lies

I mean he promised to show me it but he never really did keep up that end of his bargain now did he? Was he just caught up with his princely duties? I mean, he's royalty, so it's plausible. Still, a promise is a promise, and being the determined soul that I am I wasn't about to let it slide. Sure, Eli threw a bit of interference my way, keeping me occupied with his own agenda, but mark my words that powder was going to be mine.

So there I was, chanting a littleknockity, knock, knock?tune in my head as my knuckles created a little musical against the bleached wood.

Oddly enough, no guards in sight—strange, but who cares?

There he stood, the boy with hair as white as clouds or, more precisely, like the sky, and those eyes of his, oh boy, they werejust downright cute. Picture soft clouds but in a blue hue. Or perhaps the ocean if it decided to take on a fluffy cloud-like form.

"Hey!" I beamed up at him, my enthusiasm propelling me straight into his room. I might've bypassed him a tad aggressively, but hey, no Eli to play referee. Besides, he was totally going to invite me in any way, right? Or was he? Well, too late now.

"So, where's the red powder?" I still sported my infectious smile as I made myself at home. Looking around the dingy room it looked more like a library than a bedroom. Or was it a library? Nope, I see a bed. Pretty sure it's a bedroom. The walls like all the other rooms were coated in a layer of ice. A small table stood in the corner below a huge frost-covered window. The high-quality craftsmanship and sapphires carved into the outlining of the chair and table were practically a display of their wealth.

Talk about bragging much.

Then again, if I had the money wouldn't I want the best money could afford? That bed also looks very comfortable. It was so big and wide with light blue curtains dangling down to hide its guests from peering eyes. Turning back around, I made note of the boy's features.

Hmm, were the boy's cheeks tinted a subtle shade of red?

Cute. He's like a little cockatiel.

Was he smiling too hard? Aww, he's so shy.

The boy blinked, looking somewhat puzzled. Then, my eyes registered the fact that he was still in his sleepwear. Oops! Should've paid attention to the time. Glancing over at the clock hanging slightly to the right of the door near the blue-stained nightstand. I watched as the frozen tips of the hour hand ticked just a smidge past three. Strange—why was he still in bed at this hour? But as long as Eli remained blissfully unaware of this, I should be golden.

"Sorry, didn't realize you were still asleep," I winced ever so slightly. Wait, he should've been awake by now, right?

Side note, is it just me or is a lot of this castle blue? Was it because of the ice or maybe the sapphires?

The boy furrowed his brow.

"It's three in the morning. How are you even awake?" Blinking, I cocked my head in wonder at his bedridden hair. It was like a bird's nest with how tangled it was.

"Umm, no, it's three in the afternoon. I think your internal clock’s been damaged." I giggled, finding his bewildered turned horrified regretful expression quite fascinating.

"What were you doing last night that kept you napping till three in the afternoon?" I quizzed, only to be met with a nervous chuckle from the prince.

Odd, but well he was the prince, he must have had something important like his royal duties or something. I snickered in my head.

Duties, haha funny word.

"Nothing. I was just testing something out. Anyway, you said something about the red powder?" Turning he made a beeline for his iced drawer.

I can now confirm it is most definitely the ice making everything blue.

The thing was like a functioning ice sculpture purely made from ice and nothing else. The only difference is that it's not melting. Then again this was the Winter Court, everything's either frozen or made of ice.

Yep, the castle’s most definitely blue cause of the ice.

As he fished out a clothed, you guessed it, blue sack of something my eyes lit up with anticipation. I was practically foaming at the mouth to get my hands on it. "Yep, you promised, remember? Plus, I'm kinda twiddling my thumbs with nothing to do, so I thought, why not seize the moment? Grab this redpowder thingy and dive headfirst into some research. It's the perfect cure for my boredom," I declared with a grin, reaching out to snatch the potentially magical pouch. Only to have Flynn play a little keep-away at the last second.

I shot him a frown, “Hey, what gives?"

"I- I was just wondering h-how about we team up on this? There's still some mystery surrounding this new powder. I bet we could learn more together. I'll share what I know, and we'll uncover more about it together?"

Ok, was it just me or did this boy sound all too desperate for me but, well whatever keeps me from passing out from boredom, why not?

Then again......

He never stated what I could contribute to this exchange. And nothing in this realm,nothing,comes without a price. I know that for sure. Maybe he's not the brightest little nerd I took him for. Then again, I don't have much I could give him unless he's talking about what secret me and Eli are keeping from him- You know what never mind if he doesn't know, who am I to tell him that? Normally though in an exchange both parties should give something up. On the other hand, that does seem rather cruel of me, keeping what Eli and I are doing when he's so willing to help. But, our plans are to conquer his court which means he won't be the next king. Cause Eli definitely wants to be king. He's not giving up that crown without burying his competition six feet under.

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